


Bring color to my skies

by seasonschange



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Animated GIFs, Captain America: Civil War Trailer, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-War, Sappy, cherries everywhere, cherrypocalypse, colorblind Steve, eVEN BUCKY'S SHIRT IS ABOUT IT, it's all about cherry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-21 16:04:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6057577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seasonschange/pseuds/seasonschange
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Attracted to all things red, for he sees them best - Steve's always been fond of cherries.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bring color to my skies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [awesomecherry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/awesomecherry/gifts).



> This is a very silly 'ode' to my friend [Cherry](http://captainbisexualcherry.tumblr.com) who is an exceptional friend and a beautiful soul, and happens to be celebrating her birthday <3

* * *

Attracted to all things red, for he sees them best - Steve's always been fond of cherries.

His world is a boring mix of muddy browns, dark oranges and faded yellows. But reds? Reds shine bright and in so many different shades, sometimes it'd bring tears at the corner of his eyes. Stinging. Reminding him what he's missing, what incredible panel of colors other people experience everyday without realizing their chance.

Bucky knows. He knows about Steve's sight, and about the red, too.

Bucky likes to pretend it's nothing. He says _'colorblind isn't that bad, Steve. You don't need it to be a real artist.'_ And _'if red makes you happy, I'll get you all the red you can dream of. We'll paint this whole place red!'_

Of course, they never do that. Paint is expensive, and the tenant isn't exactly fond of her residents taking liberties with the decoration.

So after Bucky finds out Steve's never tasted any before - he buys him cherries.

They always come in so many different hues of red, from pink to burgundy to black. Steve's sketch book is full of them. His favorite is the one from where Bucky had hung a pair of cherries on Steve's ear and laughed and  _laughed_ , before asking Steve to do the same to him. Steve had timidly requested to draw his portrait then, and Bucky had immediately agreed. He'd fallen asleep at some point during his pose, but it'd turned out alright anyway.

Steve's sketch from that day was also one of Bucky's favorites.

Cherries don't last too long, however. Too perishable a fruit, their season also has a very narrow window.

Steve'll only see them on the marketplace from May to June, and that usually leaves them very little time to gather the money necessary to buy a pound. Just enough to barely leave a lasting taste in Steve's mouth; and that's if Bucky leaves his share to him. Which is the only thing Steve will always argue against.

Their rarity means that cherries are expensive. Cost Bucky days of salary he's earned fair and square, but that he'll always be quick to assure Steve that _'he'd have spent drinking so it's better like this.'_

Bucky's so full of shit.

With anyone else, Steve would have spent days arguing. He'd have made them understand he saw through their little stratagems. With Bucky, however, it seems wrong to argue. It feels cruel to deny him the big _, victorious_ smile he gets every time Steve gracefully (if a little reluctantly) accepts his random gifts, and agrees to play along with yet another of Bucky's whims (the latest occurrence being that time when they moved in together upon Bucky's insistance).

So that's how it is. Bucky likes to take care of him under the guise of it not being a bother at all. And Steve? Well, Steve likes to be pampered from time to time.

* * *

 

On one particularly hot summer, Bucky buys them enough to share and then some. The harvest has been plentiful that year, and the prices have lowered enough for them to be able to afford them.

They're sitting on the flat rooftop of their block, back to the wide stone column of the chimney. The roof stinks and it's dirty but Bucky's somehow managed to convince Steve to climb up there, _'to get a little sun in ya!'._

So there they are, with Bucky's long legs dangling from the top of the roof and Steve's sleeves rolled up to his armpits, pasty-white skin soaking up the sunlight and warmth. The sun is shining down directly on their faces, so Steve's eyes are closed and everything underneath his eyelids is, once again, red.

It's a boring day.

It's a wonderful day.

One of those days when he's allowed to feel light and free.

Steve's tiny stomach is already full but he still reaches for the paper bag between them to grab another one of the juicy fruits. The cherry bursts on his tongue as he chews, coating the inside of his mouth in sweetness with a hint of acidic bitterness.

But because he's got close to no good manners (he can almost hear Bucky sighing in his mind), a little bit of the juice spills from one corner of his mouth and probably stains his white shirt in the process. With a self-deprecating groan, Steve lifts one bare arm and rubs at his face blindly, hoping to wipe it away and not make a bigger mess of himself instead.

Once he's done, he turns his head and spits the pit like Bucky taught him to.

The next time their fingers bump inside the bag, meeting in the middle and Steve opens one eye because that one touch and Bucky's hasty retreat felt unusually... intense?

Dismissing the feeling, he's about to grumble some half-assed apology but when he notices that Bucky's eyes are on him - somehow, he doesn't.

Bucky's smiling at him from under the old cap he's wearing, and it's the happiest, most content expression Steve's ever seen on his face. There's also a gentleness in the curves of his lips, a _softness_  Steve's sure as _hell_  never seen before. It appears like he's been watching him for a while, and the way he's looking... it makes Steve feel like he's some  _dame_ Bucky's interested in. 

Steve blushes - _Why? What's wrong with me?_ \- and closes his eye again.

His heart is jack-hammering inside his small chest, but it's better if he doesn't say anything.

It's probably all in his head, anyway.

* * *

What Bucky doesn't say is,  _I wish I'd been brave enough to feed them to you._

What Steve hears, looking at Bucky's torn _red_ shirt is,  _I've always - and still love you._

* * *

 


End file.
